


Thief.

by Dame_Dulces



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Detective and Phantom Thief AU, Fluff, Interrogation, Light Bondage, M/M, OuSaiWriMo, Phantom Thief AU, Tickling, oumasai, saiouma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 20:16:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16502021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dame_Dulces/pseuds/Dame_Dulces
Summary: Phantom thief AU: Detective Saihara falls into the clutches of a mischievous criminal who uses unconventional interrogation methods. *tickle fic





	Thief.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the prompt "thief" for OuSaiWriMo. Enjoy!
> 
> Tumblr: @damecosquillas

“Stop!”

Shuichi’s adrenaline rush made up for his lack of athletic ability as he chased the culprit through the innards of the city streets.

The thief had stolen a precious and invaluable artifact from the history museum. For the third time this week.

The detective had his work cut out for him with this one. The perp was nicknamed “The Phantom Thief” due to the slippery nature of the unknown assailant. Neither the police nor the special force team had been able to catch the evasive criminal, nor could they identify who had committed this crime because of the lack of evidence at the scene. Only a few obscure clues could be found, which Captain Kirigiri had claimed were left behind on purpose.

That was the one of many things that confused Shuichi to no end.

It wasn’t because he was a lousy investigator. On the contrary, he was the only one besides Kirgiri that, within a few days, had developed an almost perfect theory of the perp’s identity. He had managed to trace him back to a shady group that went by the name of D.I.C.E., but unfortunately, he was still unsure what the letters stood for, who was actually involved in this group, and what the purpose of such a suspicious group could possible be.

However, he made it his goal to figure it out.

Hot on the trail of the criminal, Shuichi sprinted down shady alleyways populated by stray cats and rotten restaurant leftovers. He jumped over garbage lids, snuck past dumpsters, and even climbed a short fence in his pursuit. Finally, he cornered him at a dead end with a brick wall.

“There’s nowhere left to run! Show yourself, thief!” Shuichi called out in a breathless voice.

The cloaked figure turned around, and Shuichi made sure to get a good look at him. He was a young kid, at least 18 but definitely not old enough to drink. He had the face of a child, with wide purple eyes that matched the dark-violet hair on his head. He was shorter than most people, around 5 feet tall, and the black cloak seemed to swallow him completely.

But what Shuichi noticed the most was his shadowy, evil smile and his devious looking eyes. Despite his innocent appearance, there was something very sinister about this young man.

“Congratulations, Detective Saihara. You’ve caught me.”

Shuichi was taken aback. “How do you know my name?”

The thief chuckled menacingly.

“Neeheehee… I know almost everything about you. It’s not that hard to gather information when you have spies all over the city.”

Shuichi clenched his fist. Damn! The thief already had a leg up on him. And to top it off, it sounded like D.I.C.E. was a lot craftier than he originally assumed. He would have to tread his next steps carefully if he wanted to avoid danger.

“Are you talking about the D.I.C.E. Organization?”

“A-ha! So you’ve done your homework. Very impressive. I knew I made the right choice with you.”

“… Choice?!”

The thief put his hands on the brick wall behind him.

“Well, then. You want the artifact riiiight? Come and get it!”

And with that, the perp suddenly disappeared into the wall, falling backwards into it like it was pudding. Shuichi rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t imagining things.

“What the-?! Where’d he go?”

Apprehensively, he approached the wall and put his hand on it. He watched it sink slowly, and in a panic he tried to pull his arm back. Instead, he lost his balance and fell face forward, blacking out upon contact with the hard ground.

~

 

Shuichi woke up in a decrepit building with his hands hanging from a rope on the ceiling. His ankles were tied together and were floating only a couple centimeters off the floor.

He was trapped, like an animal waiting to be slaughtered.

 _Fuck!_  He thought anxiously to himself. _I should have been more careful. Now look what I’ve gotten myself into…_

“You’re finally awake… neeheehee…”

He recognized the playful voice from earlier. It was the thief. He had taken off the cloak and was now donning an all-white outfit and a checkered handkerchief around his neck. It reminded him of an old musical group that always dressed like clowns. Shuichi did his best to hide the fear growing in his heart.

“Where am I? And who are you?”

“Let’s get one thing straight, Saihara.  _I’ll_  be the one asking questions here, mmmk?”

The thief circled around his hanging body, appearing to seek out weak spots. Shuichi gulped as he wondered what kind of cruel tortures awaited him. He knew he wouldn’t last long under any sort of interrogation; his training simply hadn’t prepared him for this kind of situation. All he could do was wait for the pain to begin.

“What do you want to know?” he asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

The thief put a finger on his chin. “Hmmm… why don’t we start with the basics. I pretty much know everything about you already, so think of this as a test. If you lie, I’ll know, and you’ll get punished. If you tell the truth… well, you’ll still get punished, but it won’t be  _as_  bad I guess.”

Shuichi pulled at his arm restraints. “What’s the point of that?!”

The same devious smile returned. “It’s  _fun_. Duh.”

Shuichi felt his blood run cold.

“Okay, fine… what do you want me to answer first?”

“Who do you work for?”

Shuichi swallowed back a lump in his throat. “I work for the city police department.”

“Liar.”

“H-huh?!”

The thief walked behind him, disappearing from his view. “Tsk tsk, I suppose I have to show you I mean business now.”

The detective felt a sudden jab on his lower sides. He let out a yelp, surprised both by the abrupt touch and the anticipation of pain. He felt it again, this time lingering for a few more seconds. He bit his lip and tried to hold back a laugh. No! Anything but this! He prayed this wasn’t the thief’s real choice of torture. Unable to hold back, he let out sputtered bursts of laughter at each unprecedented touch.

“AAAH! EEEGH! BAHAHA!”

“Let’s try again. Who do you work for?”

Shuichi cringed, waiting for another claw to the side. When it didn’t come, he let out a sigh of relief.

“I work for the Kirigiri clan of de-EEEEE! NOOOO!”

His entire body tensed again as two hands scrabbled over his sides, pinching all over the soft, squishy area. Shuichi struggled to pull his arms down and to pull his ankles up, but the ropes held firm.

“Yay! Way to go, Saihara!”

A few more sharp squeezes and then the thief let go. Shuichi caught his breath as he watched his kidnapper walk to the front to face him.

“P-please! Don’t do that again! Anything but that!”

The perp cocked his head to one side. “Huh? It’s just a little _tickling_. I thought I was going easy on you, too. Jeez, I didn’t think a stone-cold detective like you would be  _this_  sensitive. You’d think I was waterboarding you or whatever.”

“I-I don’t care! Whatever you wanna know… I’ll tell you!”

His response was an annoyed scoff. “Come ooooon, it’s no fun if you give it all away at the very beginning. Where’s your sense of civic duty?!”

Shuichi didn’t answer. He stared at the ground in shame.

“Ugh, fine. Big baby. How about this: if you can handle five straight minutes of torture, I’ll answer one of your questions. Deal?”

Shuichi blinked. “Wait, really?”

“Yes, really. On my life!”

The purple haired boy drew an X over his own heart and smirked at the hanging detective.

“O-okay! Do your worst…”

“Neeheehee… be careful what you wish for…”

The next five minutes were pure torment. Shuichi shuddered under his touch as the thief focused his efforts on spidering all over his underarms. His body twitched as if he was being shocked by electricity. His laugh reached epic volumes, it was a miracle no one heard him. He figured they must have been deep underground, or in an abandoned building inhabited only by the two of them.

After what felt like a lifetime, the thief’s hands finally left his midsection. Shuichi struggled to catch his breath once more.

“Good job! With the way you were screaming, I didn’t think you’d last this long!”

“Ha…haa… whatever… my… question! What’s your name?”

“Woooow, I thought you would’ve figured that out by now. I’m hurt, Saihara.”

“N-never mind! Just tell me!”

“Neeheehee… I’m actually Banksy. Can you believe it?”

“… What?!”

“Just kidding! The name’s Kokichi. Kokichi Ouma. And don’t you forget it.”

Shuichi repeated the name in his head. Kokichi Ouma. It was the name fit for a king, or perhaps the king of pranks.

“Kokichi.”

Hearing the detective whisper his name in such a way made the shorter boy blush. “Ah… don’t say it like that Saihara… you’re making me feel weird.”

Shuichi ignored his comment. “Alright, now tell me what D.I.C.E. is!”

“Ah ah ah… now it’s my turn.”

Tiny hands poked into his ribs at random, making his squeal and renew his efforts to get away once more.

“AAAAAAH! NAHAHAAOOO!”

Not bothering to stop, Kokichi continued his interrogation.

“Next question! How did you find me?”

“AHAHAHEEHEE I FOLLOWED THE CLOOHOOHOOS!”

The hands stopped momentarily.

“You figured out my clues?”

Shuichi, completely red in the face, nodded his head.

“It was pretty obscure, but once I sat and thought about it for awhile I was able to piece them together.”

Now it was Kokichi’s turn to look dumbfounded. He turned around, mumbling to himself about this and that, then looked back at the trapped detective.

“You really are amazing… I’ve never met anyone who understood my hints before. Congrats! You’ve thoroughly impressed me!”

Shuichi grinned sheepishly. “Uh… thanks, I guess.”

“You know what? I think I’m in love with you, Saihara.”

The detective’s cheeks grew hot at the sudden confession. “Wh-what?! Are you serious?”

“Neeheehee! Just kidding. That’s totally a lie. But I’m for sure infatuated by you.”

Shuichi couldn’t tell if the thief was lying or being truthful. His solid face and lack of expression gave nothing away. He wondered if Kokichi was the type of person who always won games like poker.

“Mmmm… anyway… can I ask you what D.I.C.E. is now?”

“Of course you can. That doesn’t mean I’ll answer, though. At least not until after I do this!”

Ten fingers traced random patterns all over Shuichi’s stomach, making his skin quiver and his organs do flip flops. He giggled against his better nature, a faint pinkish color spreading across his face. The restraints were really starting to bother him; no matter if he turned left or right, he couldn’t get away from Kokichi’s delicate touch.

“O-o-hoho, so  _this_  is the spot that makes you giggle like a little girl. How adorable.”

“Ngnnnngh! Eeheeheehee! Dohohohohn’t!”

Another few minutes passed, and the light strokes ceased.

“Alrighty… I guess rules are rules. You had another question?”

Shuichi spoke with labored breaths. “What… is… the D.I.C.E. organization? What do the letters mean?”

“Weeeeell… D.I.C.E. stands for many things, actually. And none of them really make sense. For example, some of the members say it stands for the Deplorable Institution of Cackles and Epitaphs. I’ve heard others say it’s also the Department of Insidious Criminals and Eunichs. It’s been around for so long, most people forgot the original meaning. Some of the acronyms are things we just made up for fun.”

“We?”

“Yup, we! D.I.C.E. is a super-secret evil organization made up of 10,000 members. And  _I’m_  the one in charge!”

Kokichi let out a cackle as Shuichi’s jaw almost dropped to the floor.

“… You’re the leader? But… you’re just a kid!”

“Aaaaand? Your point? You’re not that much older than me, yet here you are working for one of the most prominent detective agencies in the world. As long as you have the talent, you can do just about anything.”

Shuichi shifted his gaze. “You’ve got a point… but that still leaves a lot of questions to be answered…”

“Yaaaawn. Explaining the purpose of D.I.C.E. is sooooo boring. And anyway, I still have one last thing I wanna ask you…”

Shuichi braced himself for another attack. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt two fingers slide up and down his torso on either side. He shrieked again when they circled his waist.

“Are you single?”

His eyes shot open. “AAAAAGH! Wh-whahahat?!”

Kokichi’s hands stopped briefly. “Are you deaf? I asked if you’re single?”

It was at this moment that Shuichi realized how strange this situation has turned out. In between giggles, he took a quick moment to reflect on the last few hours of his life. He had chased a mystery assailant into a strange alley, fallen into some sort of funhouse trap, and had been at the mercy of a young torturer with a very unique method of interrogation.

And now, for some reason, he was being hit on.

_What the hell did I get myself into?!_

“Uuum… well, uuhhhhh…”

He was about to answer when he looked down and saw Kokichi staring at him with a dreamy expression. It was bizarre, he almost looked… cute. No one had ever looked at Shuichi in this way, and in a way it felt like he was being gazed upon by his lover. He felt heat rising in his cheeks as his thoughts ran wild.

Then, before he could form an acceptable response, he heard a faint rumbling sound coming from the walls around him that steadily grew louder. It sounded like heavy footsteps and deep baritone voices barking orders. As the sounds grew louder, Kokichi’s mouth faded into a frown.

“It looks like our time here is running out.”

In a flash, he pulled out a remote control with a red button and smashed down. Shuichi was abruptly dropped on the floor, and the ropes around his wrists were loosened. He scurried to remove the ones around his ankles. When he was free, he scrambled to his feet and prepped himself for another chase.

“Don’t bother, your little police friends are here and I’ve already arranged for my escape. Pursuing me would be useless at this point.”

Muffled banging could be heard on a faraway door. Strangely, Shuichi found himself wishing their time together hadn’t been cut so short.

He deftly suffocated the thought.

“Wait! D-don’t move!”

“It’s been fun, Saihara, but I’ve gotta go. Don’t worry though, I won’t forget about you.”

With a wink and a toothy grin, Kokichi disappeared into the shadows. Almost as if one cue, the police force burst into the room and surrounded the breathless detective. From the masses emerged a concerned looking woman with lavender hair and emotionless eyes.

“Detective Saihara,” she spoke in her usual cool tone. “What happened here?”

Shuichi stood up with wobbly legs, massaging his sore arms. “Detective Kirigiri. I found the thief, but he got away.”

“Never mind that. Did you get any useful information from him?”

“Sort of… I got his name. I’ll have to verify it, though.”

Kirigiri glanced at the nylon ropes laying on the ground.

“Were you tortured?”

Shuichi hesitated. “Y-yeah… but I’m okay! Really…”

“You don’t seem to have any visible marks. What kind of interrogation technique did he use?”

“Uuuuh… um… heh, well, uh, you see…”

~

From the roof of the building, Kokichi watched as Shuichi and the rest of the police squad made their exit. In his tiny hands was a black baseball cap, with the initials “S.S.” written on the inside. He openly declared his thoughts to the world, throwing his words into the wind in hopes of them reaching their desired target.

“I’ve been searching for someone like you my entire life… and now that I’ve found you, I’ll make you mine.”


End file.
